Delight your customers with a Small Business Resource Center

More and more, banks are starting to realize that their small business customers are just as valuable as those in big business. Small business is becoming increasingly important to the global economy, and as such, they should be supported and helped to grow and succeed.

There’s a wealth of assistance and guidance available for small business owners in the form of industry networks and business mentors, and these are being joined by an increasing number of banks who have realized that their small business customers see them as more than just a source of finance – they can be business advisors as well.

A bank that’s viewed by its customers as small business experts will develop and maintain excellent relationships with those customers. And one of the best ways to do this is by providing them with a Small Business Resource Center.

How a Small Business Resource Center can help

The idea is to provide a one-stop shop where your small business customers can access tools and resources that will help their small business throughout its lifecycle, from start-up to growth to exit. Most people do their research online these days, and you can help them cut down on the amount of time they spend looking for advice by providing it on your own website.

Some of the basics to include are:

High-value content, sometimes known as HERO content. This includes resources like comprehensive start-up guides, action plans, and health checks. This sort of content tends to be quite lengthy, as they provide step-by-step guidance and online training.

Case studies, so that your small business customers can read about other people who’ve taken the plunge and are running a successful business. Not only can they read about real-life examples, but you’re giving those case study subjects a wonderful boost for their brand.

Regular blogs letting your small business customers know about any upcoming financial packages, lending solutions, bank events and so on.

Business guides on a variety of small business topics that relate to the business lifecycle – start-up, growth, exit.

Templates that make things easier, such as cash flow and sales forecast templates, business plan templates, and break-even and SWOT analysis calculators.

Keeping the Resource Center updated is important. If you let the content stagnate, customers will quickly lose interest and go in search of a more up-to-date resource. Draw on expertise from around the bank – you might find that people enjoy contributing content about what they do that relates to small business – and combine that with expert outsourced content to create a balanced overview.

Here at TSBC, we’re the content marketing experts, with a whole range of solutions including a complete Small Business Resource Center. Contact us to find out how we can help you.

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Glen Senior

CEO Glen Senior has been helping small businesses start and grow since 1989. Along the way, he has published 6 books on small business development and business planning, created training courses, built e-learning platforms, and developed Microsoft USA’s Small Business Plus program which was delivered into 9 countries.Since 2005 Glen has focused on the banking sector and has built up an extensive knowledge of how banks can engage with the small business segment. He has presented at a number of small business banking conferences and is sought out as an opinion leader in this space.